We’re excited to announce that ReachOut has appointed Richard Norman, Chief Executive of the Leadership Skills Foundation, as the newest member of our Board of Trustees.
Richard has been Chief Executive of the Leadership Skills Foundation since 2014. During this time, he’s led the strategic development of the youth education charity to expand its leadership programmes and provide over 80,000 young people each year with essential leadership skills by working in partnership with over 2,500 schools, colleges, and community organisations across the UK. In addition to his new role at ReachOut, Richard is also a board member of the Sport for Development Coalition and has held various non-executive board and committee roles.
Professor Simon Hepburn, ReachOut’s Chair of Trustees said: “I’m excited to welcome Richard to ReachOut’s Board of Trustees. The skills and experience he brings working with schools and young people will be incredibly valuable as we launch and implement our new organisational strategy later this year. Having a Board that can be a real asset to ReachOut and, most importantly, to the young people we work with, is so important. On behalf of the rest of the Board, and the ReachOut team, I’d like to welcome Richard to his new role.”
Hear from Richard on his appointment:
What motivated you to become a trustee at ReachOut?
“I believe schools are uniquely placed to engage with young people and create a sense of community and belonging. But to achieve this I believe schools need to provide a wide-range of activities that treat young people as individuals rather than as a homogenous group. By providing mentors within schools, I truly believe ReachOut adds huge value to those activities and the overall school environment. So playing a small part in supporting ReachOut positively support hundreds of young people in this way was the major factor in becoming a Trustee.”
What are you looking forward to in your role?
“I love how ReachOut’s approach creates incredible stories from both mentors and mentees and the impact ReachOut has on the schools they work with. Having the opportunity to see how interacting with ReachOut mentors positively influences young people’s confidence and skills is undoubtedly what I am looking forward to most.”
How do you incorporate socio-emotional skills into your day-to-day life?
“At a personal level, as a parent with young children, socio-emotional skills are a minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour presence which impact – both positively and negatively – our day to day lives within our family and our interactions in our communities and beyond. Professionally, so much of an organisation’s culture comes down to the socio-emotional skills of its teams. So for me, the skills that ReachOut helps young people to develop are the basis for almost every interaction we have whether personally or professionally.
I truly believe they are skills that can be practised, learned, and ultimately improved. That is why the work of ReachOut is so important, to help young people develop these skills and empower their confidence and ultimately their future.”
